The Effect of Formative Assessment and Giving Feedback on ECG Interpretation Skills among Cardiovascular Residents of Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences

Introduction: The expansion of knowledge and information in different scientific branches necessitates the application of novel methods of educational management such as new methods of evaluation. Earlier studies on cardiovascular residency program in Iranian medical universities showed that little focus has been applied on novel teaching methods of ECG interpretation skills. This study was performed to investigate the effects of formative assessment and giving feedback on cardiovascular medical residents’ ECG interpretation skills in Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences. Methods: In this quasi experimental study, twenty two 2nd and 3rd year cardiovascular medical residents of Modares and Talegani medical centers were investigated. Residents were randomly divided into two groups. After conducting pretest, all residents attended 20 weekly sessions on ECG interpretation. Then after 10 and 20 sessions they were reassessed (mid-test and post-test). Residents in case group received the answers of tests (ECG interpretation) while residents in control group did not receive any feedback on correct answers. At the end, the results of pre-test, mid-test, and post-test for two groups were compared using paired t test. Results: Nine (49.95%) residents were allocated in case group and 13 (59.9%) in control group. Mean score of pretest in case and control croup were (42.8±7.3) and (41.4±3.7) respectively out of total score of 100 and no significant difference was observed between two groups at the beginning of study (P=0.6). After 22 weeks, mean score of post-test reached to 94.5±2.4 in case group. This mean score reached to 82.8±5.5 for control group. Residents’ post-test mean scores improved in both groups compared to pretest. This improvement was significantly higher in case (feedback) group compared to control group (P<0.001). Conclusion: The study showed that applying (continuous) formative assessment and giving feedback significantly improve ECG interpretation skills. Therefore we recommended using formative assessment and feedback as a part of educational and evaluative programs.